Car-door-operating device.



Patented July 8, 1913.

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V. M. sUMMA.

CAR DOOR OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3, 1912 WITNESSES residing at St. Louis, Missouri, and being a' UNITED STA'lES PATENT OFFIGE.

VICTOR M. SUMMA, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CAR AND FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CAR-DOOR-OPERATING DEVICE:

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1913.

Application filed'luly 3, 1912. Serial m5. 707,68.

citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Door-Operating Devices, (Case 13,) of which the following is a-full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it.appertains to make and to use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustratethe preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the I invention is not limited to'the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modificationsthereof will occur to persons skilled in the art.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view taken through the center sills and drop doors of a dumping car, showing the cross-bearers in elevation, and showing a preferred embodiment oi my invention attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the-car, the section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrow.

The object of the invention is in general to provide a simple door lifting and locking means adapted to be applied to the hinged doors of dumping cars of the class commonly known as general service cars, the principal object being to provide a simple, durable and eflicient means for op ating the door, and more particularly. the object of the invention is to provide a reinforcing bearer or track for the door engaging the door actuating means, so as to minimize wear between these members. y

Referring to the parts, thereis shown in the physical embodiment illustrated, spaced apart double center sills F united by a top plate A, as is usual with construct-ions of this character.

H represents generally a cross-bearing member commonly incident to car underframe constructions, which is connected with the adjacent center sills by means of rivets G passing through its flanges and through the webs of thecentersills.

I isa bottom tie plate connected with the diapli'ragms H and extending below and v con'iiecting the center sills and fastened to thej center sills by means of rivets R and BB indicate angles which are commonly used-as bottom or tension angles of plate girder side :ivalls, which side walls are shown fragmentarily at D, and S indi-' cates in general. t-l16 tll'OD doors of the car. Extending outwardly from the web of each of the center sills F', and positioned below the upper flange E of these sills is an outstanding bracket K, to the upper outer portion of which bracket is pivoted by plate that when the door is in its lowered. or open position, as shown in the left-hand side of Fig. 1, the extreme inner edge of the door contacts withv the.under-side of the top flange E, preventing infiltration of the lading between the door and center sills.

Connecting the cross-bearers on both sides of the car and extending longitudinally of the same is a crank shaft 3, which crank shaft is supported from the cross-bearers preferably by means of brackets fastened to the lower flange of the diaphragm H, or other cross-bearers, and, as shown in the illustration, the bracket comprises a. top bearing plate 4 having a central dependent U portion 5, which plate forms in effect an outer continuation of the bottom tie plate I. Disposed beneath and fastened to the plate 4 by means of rivets 6, which pass through this plate and through the lower flange of the bolster H, is a hanger plate 7 having a central dependent U hanger 8 straddling the U portion 5, and affording a bearer for the shaft 3. By this construct-ionit is seen that the shaft normally rests within the crotch of the U hanger 8, but is prevented from contacting with the diaphragm H by means of the U portion 5; On each side of the bracket so form'ed the'shaftis bent into crank arms 9, andisfthen-bent'into a rela tively long crank pin -10,"'d-isposed beneath and extending parallel with the outer edge of the door S, it being understood that each door is supported'up'on thecrank pin -11 obviate this objection there is fastened beneath each side adjacent: the outer edge of each door a casting 13. This casting,

shown more particularly in Fig. 2, ha a channel portion 14 facing inwardly of the ..door and fastened to the top portion 11 means of rivets 1 5, and the depending flange 12 by means of rivets 16, the lower rib 17 of this casting affording a materially wide bearing surface to rest on the pin.10, and this lower flange 17 may be made'as wide as desired, and, of course, may evenextend entirely across the bottom of the door.

In order to form a stop to limit the rotation of the shaft 3 when in position closing the door, as shown in the ri t-hand side of Fig. 1, a shouldered casting is secured under the door and said cast-ing 13 has a depending rear leg 18,- the outer edge .of which may beformed into a broad flange 19-, forming with the flange 17 an L or J-shaped hearing and stop for the pin 10.

Assuming the door to be open; as shown in the left-hand side of Fig. 1,:the shaft 3 is rocked in a clock-wise direction, as indicated in. the dotted lines, which rocking of the shaft will cause the pin 10 to bear against the casting 13, forcing the door into the closed position shown in the right-hand side of Fig. 1, and in Fig. 2, at which time the pin 10 wilLbe seated in the angle of the bearing plate 19, in which'position-it will be noted that the weight of the lading on the door S will be transmitted through the cast- I ing 13, pin 10 and arms 9 to the brackets fastened to the cross-bearers, whereby the weight of the lading is transmitted to the substantial cross-bearers through members which are capable of withstanding this pressure, and at-the same time utilizing the thin sheet doors now in general nse' The doors are stopped in their closing position against the-angle B and the bolster top plates T} It will be observed that the crank arms 9 occupyan oblique position when the door is closed, the angle of inclination of the crank arm shown at the right-hand side of Fig. 1

being 16 30, so that the shoulder of the casting 13 at the inner'ie'iid thereof performs a useful function in,v preventing continued rotation of the shaftiuider the closed door due to the weight off-the door and-the lading. Without the said shoulder, forming astop for the long crank pin, said pin might be shifted inwa dly far enough to permit the superposed load to cause said crank arm to drop inwardly, that is toward the center sills. However, when the said crank pin contacts with the shoulder of the casting 13, it is stopped and can only travel in a direction toward the outer end of the door. It will be observed that the bottom flange 17 of casting 13 is deflected upwardly from the vertical portion lll th'ere'of at a "slight inclination so as to reduce as much as possiblethe friction incident to the outward movement of the long crank pin 10. Due to the nature of the ladin connnonly'traiisported in cars of this c ass, disintegration thereof does not commonly occur until the drop doors are somewhat opened, hence in.

rocking the operatingshaft to release such doors-the u'pward inclination of the bottom flange of the casting performs an import-ant ofliice, as it permits outward movement of the long crank pin, 0 posed only by friction due to the weight 0 the door, until said crank arms 9 have passed a vertical or relatively vertical position, after which continued outward movement thereof will be comparat-ively easy. I

What I claim is;-

- 1. -In a dumping car, a door,

ating mechanism, a cross bearer member and a bracket supporting said door actuating mechanism from said cross-bearer member,

said bracket comprising a pair of super imposed plates, each plate'having a U'-shape a door"actuportion formed therein, one of said portions dumpingrl'doors, a rockable shaft having crank arms and crank pin, a door, a member on the door having a shoulder inthe path of movement/of the crank pin and adapted to serve as a stop thereforwhen the crank arms occupy an oblique inwardly extending position, said member having a bottom contour relatively vertical at one portion, and a. portion inclined upwardly and outwardly from said vertical portion. Y

4. In combination,.a dumpin drop door hinged near one edge, av rein orcing stop casting secured to the door-and extending outwardly from said hinged edge and havshaft having a cranked portion adapted to contact with said member to close the door and occupy an oblique position in contact with the shoulder on the member to prevent 15 accidental opening of the door.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

VICTOR M. SUMMA.

ing a shoulder near its inner end, and a rockable shaft having crank arms and having a crank pin adapted to bear against said casting to lift the door and to be stopped by said siiou der to lock the door in closed position when said crank arms extend obliquely inwardly.

5. In a dumping car, a door operating device comprising a door, a shouldered wear resisting member on the underside of the door, in combination with an operating Witnesses:

OSCAR HooHBERo, JAMES J. COOPER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

